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Sep 10, 2012

Monday, September 10, 2012 Melanie Miller

Theme: Ain't No Big Thing - Five 'Little' clue echo's (clecho's), 5 synonyms for little but they aren't really synonyms for each other. (Is there a word for that?)

18A. Little vehicle : COMPACT CAR

23A. Little time : SHORT TERM

40A. Little role : CAMEO APPEARANCE

51A. Little break : BRIEF STOP

60A. Little type : SMALL PRINT

Argyle here. Odd feel to Melanie Miller's Monday musings. Some entries that are gimmes for the veteran solvers but stumpers for the newbies. Melanie gave us the 4H puzzle. The grid is more main stream today but the content, I don't know, less inspired?

Well, this was mostly a Monday speed run. Blew through most of it in near-record speed, but then hit some speed bumps on the Eastern Seaboard. Neither MEDCO nor SHANT sprang immediately to mind (actually, I've never even heard of MEDCO and had to rely on the perps). Tried TATA instead of CIAO and couldn't think of ABREAST right away. Similarly, couldn't get AS IF off the clue at first.

Being a Monday, none of these issues slowed me down for long and I still finished in good time. It was just a bit odd that everything else went by so smoothly except for that one tiny section...

Abejo,Ditto here. Until about 4-5 years ago, I had not been to a doctor since 1974 for any reason. Now my calendar is full of appointments. Makes sense of the old adage, "The only thing wrong with old age is it doesn't last long enough". I'm still kicking pretty high, though. Rode the bike 50 miles yesterday, and it was the pedal powered one, not the Beemer.

Speaking of kicking, for the first time in 3 years I missed three consecutive days of the blog while I was out breaking some personal maraschinos. Catching up this morning, I was shocked (shocked, I say) to see that I had been flamed on Saturday without even posting. While I have never met Mr. Bumppo, Esq., I suspect that the only thing we have in common is our state of residence. For one thing, I have never, in 3 1/2 years, posted one iota (puzzlese) of puzzle criticism. I just solve the puzzle (or not, often on Saturdays) and move on. And I pretty much love all music, including that of "the kids" today.

Thanks for your inspired write-up, Argyle! I loved the little fawn, but I wonder why he was there, and what happened to him? Did he ever find his MA?

Interesting use of clechos in the theme entries today. I thought the grid was well done, considering there were fills of 10-9-15-9-10 to get around.

I SHAN'T repeat what everyone else has said, but I did like seeing WHISH. Hand up for never having heard of MEDCO.

Arabon from last night, the gimmick certainly could be done in reverth - but it would have to be consistent, with all the themers changing the same sound from "TH" to "S". But cluing "moss balls" would end up being quite DF, don't you think? LOL!!

CED, I can't think of his name, but I can picture him. He used to be on TV a lot.

HeartRx, that reminds me of that famous radio blooper..."Hail as big as moth balls, and I'm talking big moths here." And that reminds me of a Navy baseball game on Guam back in the 60's. I was back at the studio, and couple other guys were at the game doing the play-by-play..."That's two strikes, and the batter's got no balls on him...[giggle][giggle][guffaw] [ROTFL]" He wanted desperately for me to take it back to the studio for a PSA, but I just wouldn't do it. He finally got it back together, but he broke up several more times during that broadcast just thinking about it. Fond memory.

My son has 9 prescriptions with MEDCO. Their service is great and their personnel are caring. They contact the doctors for reorders, and I like having all the info online.

Today the Star Ledger had a consumer help article on a woman who has been trying to get her ice maker fixed since March.Link ice maker Sound familiar?

On Saturday I returned to the Y after being unable to participate since Jan. I tolerated it well, but with fewer reps, lighter weights, and longer times.

In re yesterday's blog: Being a long time devotee of state parks in several states, I have learned much about feeding wildlife. The rangers say feeding ducks and waterfowl bread is bad for them. The same arguments apply to bread for deer.Link Is bread for the birds?

Marti, congrats on a great Sunday puzzle. I wrote a post last evening, but it disappeared before I could publish and I didn't retype it.

Except for a couple of erasures REAIR/RERUN, ITSME/ITISI this took a very SHORT, BRIEF time. Quick run before I go see an ENT guy today hoping my hearing can be fixed without a hearing aid – damn vanity! I agree about medical issues WH!! At least my issues are only annoying and aren’t life threatening.

Musings-I agree with Argyle’s assessment -esMe/Medco was only real pause but former came out of somewhere and latter made sense with first syllable-Two FAWNS and mom walked up to us at Fontanelle Forest a few weeks ago. Wow!-Differentiating into METH., CONG., EPIS., LUTH., CATH. ad nauseum makes no sense to me.-Old 30’s/40’s movies where people born in Ohio and Pennsylvania were calling each other “Dahling” are silly-TRIG was much harder than CALC for me-What sitcom had two men stealing an ARMOIRE off the street from one of the principal characters?-When I was teaching, those bracelets has BEADS-There were more TEARS than TIERS in the Rose Bowl Saturday where the Huskers lost-Omaha considered a PANDA for its zoo expansion but the costs are incredible-Greek wife hates FETA and Blue Cheese-A silly cartoon of Two Men Walking Abreast anyone can draw

Easy speed run for me today. wanted aenta for 28d but it would not go because of beads. I was aware of Medco they were a pharmacy Benefit management company they were started by Merck, and spun off. Medco ceased to exist in 2012 when they were purchased by Express Scripts.

Nice to have a Monday puzzle to do. Needed perps for a few answers. I struggled more with the mechanics of doing the puzzle on a computer for the first time. Interesting. I think I still prefer paper/pencil or iPad.

Thank you Melanie Miller for a nice, relatively easy puzzle, and Argyle for the enchanted blog. I didn't know fawns made sounds, although we have quite a few in our neighborhood - I know the adult deer don't make any sounds, except some snorts and heavy breathing (as a warning ). I wonder why they lose ( the power of - ) their vocal cords, in adulthood.

We (have to - ) use MEDCO. The company has a direct contract with your Health Insurer, like Anthem, so you don't have any other choices, and you as a consumer are only Numero Dos ( No.2) with them. ... They insist on sending you a 3 month supply at a time, by mail - so if your Doc. changes the medication, (in the middle -) you just throw away the balance. Very inflexible system, not efficient. They are also not the cheapest. I would have much preferred our local discount store Marc's by Marc Goodman, of Cleveland - they discount everything, even newspapers and are very efficient - but as above, we don't have a choice. Plus, if one of the MEDCO shipments is lost in the mail, or is not delivered - it takes at least 30 days, to get them to admit the mistake, credit your insurance and send another shipment - which is ridiculous. I would rate them a 'bare' 3 out of 10. BTW, I almost never thought of them in the xword.

Also they insist on auto-refill, which is totally unnecessary. Also it takes 10 days to receive your shipment - by which time, either your disease has passed its course, and you have been auto-cured .... or dead.

Well after what feels like a month of family visitors in the house, we saw our son and d-i-l off to Germany yesterday, so now I have the house to myself again for a while. It was really only 3 weeks from when our other son arrived, but with all the comings and goings of their overlapping stays as they all visited their friends in nearby places, it seemed like grand central here. Yesterday was our actual anniversary, so welcome relief at the end of it all.

The puzzle today was easy with perps for the few unknowns, including MEDCO, BTW.

Perth was recently said to have the highest percentage of millionaires per population of any city in the world. I don't know if that still holds true. Beautiful place, but it's grown tremendously since I saw it in 1965.

My insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal, has alternated between Merck Medco and what is now CVS Caremark for Mailorder prescriptions. I have never had any problems with either. Even during the transition from one provider to the other, they have made it easy. Non-delivered orders are rectified immediately and without argument. Sorry that some people have had problems but that has not been my experience.

YR, thanks for the kind words about my puzzle. Glad to hear that you are getting back to the gym - exercise is usually the best medicine, as long as it's not overdone. You sound as if you have it all under control!

Husker G. @ 8:39, re: ARMOIRE. That would be the "Seinfeld" episode that I just saw a couple weeks ago on re-runs!

And happy belated anniversary, Kazie!! I feel for you regarding house guests. We have a friend coming to stay for a week, so have been in full gear to get everything spiffed up...

My rudimentary Spanish comes in handyevery so often...(9a)...Is Humana considered an HMO? I keep getting "offers" to use their mail-order pharmacy...but I always say, "I may have to, some day...but as long as I can support my local pharmacist, I intend to." "Esme" could be an informal answer to 53d. :) 49d threw me for a sec...wanted the "h".Happy Anniversary, Kazie! Our weather here is making me crave your gridle cakes! Three weeks of company!!! I agree with the adage, "After three days, fish and house guests stink!" I realize that when you come from so far, a longer visit is "necessary..." but it`s still hard on the hostess.

Enjoyable Monday puzzle. Began by filling in all across except PRIED and NITA. Didn't stop to look at theme until Argyle explained.

I've not yet caught up with past blogs. One of my meds caused pancreatic enzymes to elevate causing abd. cramps and nausea. Had to discontinue and start on another med. New med would have been $280 a month at Walgreen. My mail order, Caremark ( Had MEDCO last year ) charged $65 for 3 months. It was worth a little longer wait to start med. I will probably be throwing about a month's worth away in the end. See physician and get blood work results this week. Feeling better.

ENT Dr. Kuo sent me to an audiologist, as he could find nothing wrong with my ears medically. He said if he sent me to Wal~Mart or some other commercial places, they would have me in a hearing aid in a heartbeat.

Audiologist said I am just above the threshold of living without a hearing aid in my left ear (bye, bye sounds above 9,000 vps). She said if a female voice is talking into my left ear during a basketball game – good luck with that!

I get my meds through Prime Pharmaceutical and have been very happy with that service. I get a three-month supply at a very low price and they send emails telling me when I am due to renew but leave the ball in my court.

Hello everybody. I had much the same reactions/experiences/thoughts you all did with today's puzzle. I should have known MEDCO but I needed the perps to get it. ESME was a gimme, among many gimmes. I put in SMALL POINT at 60A, which almost did me in when I couldn't remember the first letter of Ms. Naldi's name and was scratching my head over what REOU_ could be. Finally the light bulb turned on.

HeartRx:With regard to my reply to your question yesterday about the cluing for KAL as Alpo alternative, I want you to know I did not mean I wish you *had* clued it that way. I appreciate and admire your cluing it as KAL Penn; even though I did not know who he was, I certainly do now, and I learned something. Learning new things is part of what makes solving xword puzzles fun, and your puzzle was definitely fun, as well as something to sink one's teeth into.

JzB @ 11:16 - Very nice pictures. I, too, went to CCHS but ours was Catholic Central High School. Our athletes were (still are) the Crusaders, our newspaper was The Triune, and our yearbook was the Catholicon. The faculty included Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and priests from various orders. There were no lay teachers at all and the freshmen were segregated by gender, the boys in an entirely different building. How times have changed!

Oh, and of course TEMPE was a total gimme for me, too. Our granddaughter is in her 2nd year at Arizona State University there. At first she didn't think she'd like being so close to home, but now she finds it advantageous to drive across town to crash for a weekend at her parents' house. Plus, they have a terrific washing machine!

Jazzbumpa, I also smiled at plenty of fish IN THE SEA. Superb clue and fill.

Lucina, recalling the discussion on spanakopita the other day, I asked our son and DIL if they knew of any nice Greek restaurants in that area. While they have a good knowledge about many restaurants there, they could not think of any that have good Greek food. So I think you might be out of luck finding a spanakopita fix. Oh, and my son said, "Don't even think about Olive Garden." Believe me, he knows. LOL

Whoopy – IT IS I in a puzzle. About time.And it's so nice to have one I could get with few hangups. SHANT took a while plus a few perps. And TRIPP was sooo long ago!

Merck Medco is from whom I and DH get our meds. Doesn't seem like a hard one. Ditto what YR said about it.

Fun puzzle and great write up, as always Argyle.

Had to stop in the middle of all this to go for lunch with DH and then for an estimate on painting my Hondo Civic (1996) that does not yet have 50,000 miles on it. $1000, which is cheaper than any replacement for the few times we need a second car! Includes fixing up in the trunk where DH has put duct tape to hold it all together. I have been nagging DH to get this done, so am feeling very cheerful about today.

We too have deer in our backyard. Once, when I was shooing the deer away from my flowers, one of the does turned and bleated at me in a tone similar to that of the fawn in the video.. She seemed to be scolding me. So at least one adult deer still has its voice!

Hahtoolah, Irish Miss and Lucina,Thanks to you all, and to anyone else who mentioned our anniversary yesterday as well, for your kind wishes. Not only did I have no time to work on either yesterday's or Saturday's CW, but didn't really come here until late at night when I saw an email from someone I assumed to be from the blog. However with my overly hurried skimming, I didn't see your wishes then. It's really wonderful how caring and responsive everyone here is.

Today I'm just catching up on normalcy again. But later in the week we are going to use a gift card for a fairly ritzy restaurant in the area that our German contingent gave us to make up for our having spent yesterday getting them off. We did have a lovely family gathering with my DH's sister and her DH on Saturday too.

Yesterday we had a glitch with my laptop--something to do with a "temporary profile". My son had researched this online with their laptop, and found a set of instructions which involved a series of steps to try. Having gone through a few versions of this, it was again bootable in my normal mode, but only after repeated startups. Thinking the Best Buy geeks could probably do it more easily to get things back to normal, we stopped there on our way to seeing them off. They wanted $200 for a year's warranty service for just this one time fix. So we walked out. He worked on it more as we proceeded to where we were going, and now it works normally again.

We are Kaiser members. Here in our area they have the choice of mail order or a pick up at the clinic pharmacy. This helps if you have a new prescription which needs to be taken immediately. We have been very pleased with the service.

Lucina, we saw a horrible dust cloud decending on an Arizona city. Have you had such in your area?

Chickie:Dust storms have been quite frequent this summer. In fact, on Thursday evening on the way to class I drove through one but thankfully, it was already dissipating and visibility had improved.

Through my insurance provider I use Prescription Solutions, a mail order company, which has been satisfactory and cheaper than Walgreens where I formerly went. A three month's supply costs two-thirds of that from the pharmacy.

Our Year Book was the Centripital, and our paper The Centric. We had Fransiscan nuns, among others, various orders of priests, and lay teachers as well.

The previous Sr. class had a record number of merit scholars, and we won the State football championship. My Sr. Yr. we won one game, and my class was most famous for having a wild party and trashing a local park. I read about it in the Blade.

BillG@2:22 -- I know that it's supposed to be tenet. But Argyle's link was originally spelled tenent (he fixed it), and in the linked document Caretaker had spelled it as tenent. Of course, Caretaker also spelled lists as litsts. At any rate, that's why I referred to it as a Caretaker typo.

It was our 40th yesterday, and the actual date of the one we started celebrating earlier with our trip to Spain in May. The restaurant isn't ritzy at all by big city standards, but out here in the boonies it passes for what most people only use for special occasions. Nice relaxed atmosphere, good choices on the menu, decent salad bar, and prices high enough that we only go there once a year or less frequently.

Happy anniversary and many more. In the old days of the blog (hey RAZZ, nice to see you)you would not have been safe with your comment:

"But later in the week we are going to use a gift card for a fairly ritzy restaurant in the area that our German contingent gave us to make up for our having spent yesterday getting them off." but I guess in the new iteration of the Corner it is all good.

Anon-Mouse, I have had Medco for myself many years, and for my son, quite a few years. We order continuing long term medication by mail, but for new short term maladies we go to the local pharmacy, where can use our Medco cards to get instant service. As others have said, a 90 day supply is so much cheaper than 3 30 day supplies that even if you don't use it all you save money.Because many of us had had very good experiences with Medco, I would recommend that you call their customer service rep to discuss your concerns and to ask for alternatives. Maybe you could get a better deal.

Marti, I recovered from my knee surgery in Feb, with little pain and surprising mobility. The PT did me in, causing months of pain, loss of mobility, and far less endurance. It even gave me ankle tendonitis which I still suffer from. When I quit PT I slowly but surely recovered. It is good to be back to gym and dancing.

I'm gonna have to watch TBBT a lot more closely from now on. Those white notes are fantastic!!

Happy Aniv Kazie. The restaurant you describe probably exists in some form in most rural areas. When I was young, we said it was a place you could only drive the good tractor to. But hey, at least they had pickled herring and bleu cheese dressing at the salad bar, so it was worth the effort. :-)

Medco is a pharmacy benefit manager, meaning your medical insurer contracts them to handle its members' pharmacy benefits. They were the largest pharmacy benefit manager(pbm) until recently when they were purchased by the 2nd largest pbm, express scripts. They do operate a mail order pharmacy but that is not their classification. When you go the pharmacy, chances are your pbm pays the pharmacy on behalf of your medical insurer and you pay the remaining copay if it applies.

Hi Y'all, good puzzle but harder than usual for Monday for me. Great expo, Argyle!

I can't believe I spelled PEcOE which left me camping on LAcE. Only error.

Deer & rabbits both have voices they use. They are just shy. Mortally wound them and they scream.

Never heard of MEDCO. I'm not signed up for any medicine insurance. Too many hassles as my mother's caretaker. Also she had a medical emergency after the mail-order company sent her the wrong medicine.

I also stood in line at the pharmacy counter behind people who were trying to straighten out fiascos caused by their insurers. I think all the hassles I have had with medical insurance created so much stress it CAUSED health problems. My local pharmacists have been so helpful, I don't want faceless long distance people doling out my meds.

Evening all,Quick puzzle today. When i see Salinger in the clue I only think of Tess, Bess or Esme.Argyle, that fawn video you posted was so close to spitting distance from my front porch. It's not unusual to see them around here but rare to see them without mommy around.Marti, I don't normally do the Sunday puzzle but when I saw your name I had to try it. I admit, I came up with a big fat DNF. I am humbled, but I thank you for such an entertaining puzzle. Kinda makes me look forward to Saturdays Silkies.

For anyone still around tonight.Would you vote for someone whose camp phones you with a ghost number of 000-000-0000? What do they have to hide? I know this might border on no politics but 5 calls in one night is too much!! I do feel sorry for that fifth caller though, But once pissed...

Bill G.Continent apart and still awake.By camp I mean the politician's volunteers that cold call endlessly. They block their number with those robo callers. I can't watch TV anymore because I'm tired of all of it. Governor term here is every two years. Once elected, their entire term is spent on reelection!